AIM:To determine the clinical characteristics of a prospective study of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy.METHODS:We reviewed clinical manifestations,and medical records of 103 patients in whom Graves' ophthalmopathy WaS diagnosed between 2003 and 2005.RESULTS:Among 103 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy,48(46.6%)male and 55(53.3%)female(F:M=1.1),with mean age of 45 (range;18-73) years,95 (92.2%)patients had Graves' hyperthyroidism,3(2.9%) had primary hypothyroidism,and 5 (4.8%) were euthyroid.The mean duration of ocular symptoms was 13.2 (range 2-95) months) while the mean duration of dysthyroid symptoms was 39.4(range 6-180) months.Unilaterality was occurred in 12 patients.Eyelid retraction was present in 90 patients (87%),whereas the approximate frequency of exophthalmos was 77.6%(80 patients);restrictive extraocular myopathy.29% (30 patients);evidence of extraocular enlargement on CT-scan in 52 patients of 70 patients (74%) that was evaluated,and optic nerve dysfunction,5.8%(6 patients).22(21%)patients hadglaucoma associated with Graves' ophthalmopathy that 7 (6.7%)of them were normal-tension glaucoma.CONCLUSION:Eyelid retraction Was the most common clinical sign of Graves' ophthalmopathy in our patients.Larger prospective studies are suggested to evaluate both the prevalenoe and possible racial difference in its dinical presentation in Iranian population.

Cancer is a frightful disease and represents one of the biggest health-care issues for the human race and demands a proactive strategy for cure.Plants are reservoirs for novel chemical entities and provide a promising line for research on cancer.Hitherto,being effective,chemotherapy is accompanied by certain unbearable side effects.Nevertheless,plants and plant derived products is a revolutionizing field as these are Simple,safer,ecofriendly,low-cost,fast,and less toxic as compared with conventional treatment methods.Phytochemicals are selective in their functions and acts specifically on tumor cells without affecting normal cells.Carcinogenesis is complex phenomena that involves many signaling cascades.Phytochemicals are considered suitable candidates for anticancer drug development due to their pleiotropic actions on target events with multiple manners.The research is in progress for developing potential candidates (those can block or slow down the growth of cancer cells without any side effects) from these phytochemicals.Many phytochemicals and their derived analogs have been identified as potential candidates for anticancer therapy.Effort has been made through this comprehensive review to highlight the recent developments and milestones achieved in cancer therapies using phytomolecules with their mechanism of action on nuclear and cellular factors.Furthermore,drags for cancer treatment and their limitations have also been discussed.

Helicobacter pylori is a well-known pathogen that is responsible for gastric disorders. Overcoming of the antibiotic-resistance is a main barrier to treat H. pylori infection. In our search for anti-H. pylori compounds from natural resources, bioactivity-guided isolation on the ethyl acetate fraction of Fraxinus mandshurica bark that had shown anti-H. pylori activity gave twelve compounds (1 - 12) of six coumarins, three phenylethanoids, two secoiridoids, and a lignan using silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex-LH 20, and recrystallization.The chemical structures were identified by spectroscopic data analysis, including 1D, 2D NMR, and mass spectrometry. Among them, compounds 2, 10, and 11 showed moderate growth inhibitory activity against three strains ofH. pylori, compared with positive controls of quercetin and metronidazole. Compounds 5, 6, 8, and 12 exhibited the inhibitory activity against strains 26695 or 43504. This is the first report on the anti-H. pylori activity of this plant and the isolated compounds.

Breast cancer is a frightful disease and serious concern in women around the world causing significant health care burden in both developed and developing countries. Extensive research work has shown that breast cancer provides strong resistance to chemical agents, UV radiation, and hormonal treatments. It is generally accepted that cell genetics is not the only main reason for breast cancer and genetic risk factors, for example, mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes constitute 5%-10% of all breast cancer rates. Other related factors include age, gender, race, ethnicity, weight, reproductive factors, exo- and endogenous hormonal exposures, oral contraceptives use, ultraviolet radiation, diet, and night work (circadian disruption). Many studies have revealed that dietary isoflavones regulate breast cancer occurrence, recurrence and prognosis. Dietary isoflavones have long been part of Asian population diet and there is a significant increase as compared to dietary isoflavones intake among other populations. Dietary isoflavones are natural phytoestrogens having both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic potentials on breast cancer cells in culture, animal models and in experimental trials. This literature survey provides a comprehensive overview on the tumor preventive and tumor promoting potentials of dietary isoflavones on breast cancer. In addition, this paper provides a literature review of dietary isoflavones and their effects on up-regulation and down-regulation of different signaling pathways, genes and proteins. Finally, future perspectives of dietary isoflavones and breast cancer researchers are also critically discussed, which will provide a deeper insight regarding the inner molecular mechanisms of action.

Cancer is a frightful disease and represents one of the biggest health-care issues for the human race and demands a proactive strategy for cure. Plants are reservoirs for novel chemical entities and provide a promising line for research on cancer. Hitherto, being effective, chemotherapy is accompanied by certain unbearable side effects. Nevertheless, plants and plant derived products is a revolutionizing field as these are Simple, safer, eco-friendly, low-cost, fast, and less toxic as compared with conventional treatment methods. Phytochemicals are selective in their functions and acts specifically on tumor cells without affecting normal cells. Carcinogenesis is complex phenomena that involves many signaling cascades. Phytochemicals are considered suitable candidates for anticancer drug development due to their pleiotropic actions on target events with multiple manners. The research is in progress for developing potential candidates (those can block or slow down the growth of cancer cells without any side effects) from these phytochemicals. Many phytochemicals and their derived analogs have been identified as potential candidates for anticancer therapy. Effort has been made through this comprehensive review to highlight the recent developments and milestones achieved in cancer therapies using phytomolecules with their mechanism of action on nuclear and cellular factors. Furthermore, drugs for cancer treatment and their limitations have also been discussed.

The National Cancer Institute had projected breast cancer (BC) as one of the topmost prevalent malignancies around the globe. In many cases, BC becomes resistant to chemotherapy, radiation and hormonal therapies. Traditional BC therapies are associated with adverse side effects, drug resistance and recurrence. Extensive research work has shown that these dietary phytochemicals (DPs) may exert therapeutic effects by regulating the miRNA expression. A large number of DPs have been researched as miRNA regulatory agents against BC and some other DPs have not yet been tested against BC. We have discussed the effects of curcumin, diallyl disulphide, 3,3′ diindolylmethane, ellagic acid, genistein, indole-3-carbinol, quercetin, resveratrol, and sulforaphane on regulation of expression of BC miRNAs in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models. We have also shown some of the possible DPs (Oleanolic acid, capsaicin, benzyl isothiocyanate, epigallocatechin gallate, phenethyl isothiocyanate and ursolic acid) that have shown miRNA regulatory activities and have not yet been tested against BC miRNAs. Finally, current limitations, challenges, future perspectives of DPs and BC research are also critically discussed.

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity guided fractionation led to the isolation of five anthraquinones, two stilbenes and one naphthoquinone from the EtOAc fraction of Polygonum cuspidatum, using silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex-LH20, MPLC and recrystallization. The chemical structures were identified to be physcion (1), emodin (2), anthraglycoside B (3), trans-resveratrol (4), anthraglycoside A (5), polydatin (6), 2-methoxy-6-acetyl-7-methyljuglone (7) and citreorosein (8) by UV, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and mass spectrometry. Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity including MIC values of each compound was evaluated. All of the isolates exhibited anti-H. pylori activity of which MIC values were lower than that of a positive control, quercetin. Compounds 2 and 7 showed potent growth inhibitory activity. Especially, a naphthoquinone, compound 7 displayed most potent antibacterial activity with MIC₅₀ value of 0.30 µM and MIC₉₀ value of 0.39 µM. Although anti-H. pylori activity of this plant was previously reported, this is the first report on that of compounds isolated from this species. From these findings, P. cuspidatum roots or its isolates may be useful for H. pylori infection and further study is needed to elucidate mechanism of action.
Anthraquinones ; Chromatography ; Emodin ; Fallopia japonica* ; Mass Spectrometry ; Plants ; Polygonum* ; Quercetin ; Silica Gel ; Stilbenes

Objective: The present study aimed to detect the behavioral problems pre- and post-cochlear implantation in comparison to normal hearing group to be able to manage these problems to get more benefit from using cochlear implants. Methods: A case-control study included 53 children was done. They were divided into 2 groups, the control group included 28 healthy volunteers with normal hearing and the case group included 25 children with severe to profound hearing loss, fitted for cochlear implantation. The Arabic Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to detect different behavioral problems in both groups. Case group children were followed up and reassessed again by CBCL 3 months later after cochlear implantation. Results: There were highly significant differences regarding total scores of internalizing and externalizing domains of empirically based CBCL between the control group and the case group after cochlear implants (p=0.001). There were non-significant differences in children within case group (pre- and post-cochlear implantation) regarding emotional and behavioral problems on both empirically based and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-based CBCL. Conclusion For better results, it is necessary to include a specialist of psychosomatic medicine in the cochlear rehabilitation teamwork.

Rumex acetosa is a folk medicine for gastritis and gastric ulcers. In our previous study, the ethanol extract of R. acetosa inhibited gastric ulcers and protected gastric tissue in mice induced with HCl/ethanol from gastric ulcers. Moreover, we isolated six anthraquinone compounds from this plant and evaluated their antiHelicobacter pylori activity. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify further the related antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and the bioactive constituents. Five fractions of n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and aqueous fractions were obtained from the total ethanolic extract from whole parts of R. acetosa that had exhibited antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The ethyl acetate fraction contained the highest total phenol and flavonoid contents among the five fractions and exhibited the most potent antioxidant effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay. Among the six compounds, emodin showed the most potent antioxidant activity. Next, we induced inflammation in the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cell line. The methylene chloride fraction showed the strongest reducing nitric oxide production activity among the fractions. In addition, the methylene chloride fraction suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK, and the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in a dose-dependent manner. These physiological activities of the fraction and the compounds could be involved in the anti-gastric ulcer activity of R. acetosa

Opioid drugs are the first line of defense in severe pain but the adverse effects associated with opioids are considered as a serious issue worldwide. Acupuncture/electroacupuncture is a type of Chinese medicine therapy which is an effective analgesic therapy, well documented in animals and human studies. Electroacupuncture stimulation could release endogenous opioid peptides causing analgesia in a variety of pain models. It can be used as an alternative therapy to control the opioid crisis.